Ooey Gooey Glob

Part of what started me on my coupon kick was researching cloth diapers a year ago. I came across some sites that touted the benefits of making your own laundry detergent to save a buck, and maybe a little piece of the environment. I am all about saving a buck, but I quickly became sidetracked with couponing and forgot all about my laundry dreams. Last week, however, dove soap was on sale and giving register rewards at Walgreens, and I had coupons that made it all come out to be nearly free (after RRs). That motivated me to look back in to my past apothecary discoveries. So tonight, using my newly acquired cool melon dove bar soap and some ingredients I had on hand from general household use, I did it! I also tried out making some liquid hand soap while I was at it. You can make your own household cleaners too, as well as hair care products!

I was able to keep the soapmaking process going while feeding myself and little B some delicious leftovers and doing a few dishes as well. Overall, I was out MAYBE 15 minutes of my time. I now have 2 gallons of wonderful goo sitting in a bucket waiting to be poured into old detergent containers, and it is totally AWESOME!!! The directions recommend letting it sit overnight to gel, but I couldn't resist poking at it to see if it was working yet...and it totally was. The consistency is that of a soft cooked egg, or softset jello, or maybe stagnant slimy pond water. I would be lying if I said I didn't stick my hand down in the gooey middle of it and squish it around between my fingers ;-)

I did modify a few things from the recipe- I added a little more borax because I believe I have hard water, I used my nearly free dove soap instead of special laundry bar soap, and I used baking soda that I baked at 450ºF for about 20 minutes (to convert it from Sodium Bicarbonate [Baking soda] to Sodium Carbonate [Washing soda]). Right now, I am off the wall excited about the prospect of nearly free laundry, not to mention a lessened environmental footprint AND I am not paying big bucks for gallons of water.


















I am a little giddy about the goo too.




***Note, these are images from other websites, they should show the URL in the source code. I was not super mom enough to photodocument my own process tonight, maybe next time.

Happy Birthday TO ME!!!

SWEET WALGREENS ACTION!!!

I called corporate today to clarify the use of 'register rewards' as I have had mixed results in the past. These are coupons that print at wags when you buy certain items, and you are supposed to be able to use them like cash on your next purchase. Well, many cashiers would not allow me to use more than 1 in a single transaction. Reading the verbage on the coupon, I should be able to use as many of these as I have items...as long as it doesn't push the total negative. The lady thought I could only use one on a transaction, but said that she would pass it along to the higher ups.

This was about 2 pm, and I already received a call from our local manager Jordan! WAY TO GO JORDAN! He said he had been going back and forth with the district office to decide how to handle these. He agreed with me that I should be able to use 1 per item (they are 'manufacturer's coupons', so coupon policy says I can use one MC per item) =) Ha said he just had a meeting with all his cashiers and it shouldn't be a problem! WOOT. I also had him clarify that a RR should print even if I use a coupon on that item (as long as the Q isn't a RR for the same item). Sorry if you're not a couponer, this would be about clear as mud right?

This is a huge victory for me as I have been fighting them about this issue for a month now =) WTG WAGS!!!!!!

Too many updates

So, today's my 28th birthday...yeesh. That seems so old..until I remember that Matt will be THIRTY this September!!! He surprised us all and drove up from San An this weekend, it was an awesome surprise. His wife Bethany is starting to look a little balloonish as she grows plump with child =P Everyone made it over/up to our house for cake and chicken, good times were had by all.

Pappaw brought me an old picture from when I was about 6 years old of me, Mammaw, mom, and dad out at Lake Feuton in NM on a motor home trip back in '87. If you add up the years, that makes Mammaw 52 (mom is now a year from there) and mom 29 (a year from ME now). I wonder if Pappaw was thinking of that?

Here is a sampler of the AWESOME gifts I didn't deserve-

One shiny purple BICYCLE and helmet (he knows me so well!) from my love and my baby

One GPS unit from my parents. No, I am not *that* directionally impaired! We used it on the way to Houston and it was so incredibly awesome for finding things on the fly, I raved about it, and apparently mom listened! Thanks momma daddy =)

Gift card from Pappaw to the local Lone Star Steakhouse...yummmmmmy!

Picture collage frame complete with photos from momma in law and Nancy, woo hoo! They know me well too...well enough to know I would take 5 years to get pictures in that thing. Also, some sweet purple pants, a squarish cookie/biscuit cutter, and some delicious gourmet coffee!

Matt and Bethany got me a beautiful purple picture frame (where's the picture to go inside guys, seriously?), a VERY unique rectangular glass vase with flower apliques all over it, and some SWEET Amy Brown (Faerie artist) band aids! The vase is a new favorite thing...where am I going to put it?

BJ and Jennie got me a HUGE purple collage frame! It's like these people know I love purple =) She says she will help me get pictures in it, yay! She showed me some from the girls playing in the pink sandbox that will go WONDERFULLY with the purple =)

Not that it's about the gifts, but I love everything and am so blessed to have people in my life that know me so well =) THANKS!!!




Here is a picture sampler from the day














Saturday was the big Egg Drop at Centennial Park in Owasso hosted by our church. It was surprisingly large...we are estimating over 2000 people showed up to gawk at a helicopter dropping eggs from the sky. When we were planning it, we were thinking we'd be doing good to get about 300 there. What a surprise turn out! I guess people are still fascinated by cool old school stuff like helos. Check out our pastor's blog for more pix and video to follow (give him a few days, he is currently horking his guts out with the stomach flu...poor fella').

Brookelynn had a great time with the Grandmas. I was helping out so I called in the reserves. They played in the park, slept in the stroller, and chased baby duckies.

A BIG thank you to Tulsa Helicopter and Chick-Fil-A for their kind donations and support!!!!!!!!!

And here are photos courtesy of Tresa's awesome camera! Look closely at the helo dropping the eggs....yes, those are COWS parachuting down as well!!!! Chick-Fil-A is totally awesome.

Alright, I really should get to other things now.

To do today-

1. Drink More Coffee
2. Take care of baby
3. Do taxes =(
4. Eat CAKE =)

Sweet One Year Old Baby!

We made it!!! All three of us survived the first year of parenthood/childhood without any visible scars =)

Delicious cupcake cone. The pink icing was her favorite...and it also lead her to eat the pink SAND at Ma and Pop B's this weekend at Sasha's 2nd BDay party!




You want me to what?

She learned how to 'blow' the night before on her actual birthday, but it didn't take. She actually does blow, but it goes straight up her nose...no good for birthday candles. She did, however, try and grab the flame. Baby Pyro.



With the Grandmas (and Andrea Hammond in the background) receiving the top tier conecake.







Finally, she got the cupcake alone.











Coloring with Tom Chao. That could be like a PBS show or something.









It's my party! I LOVE BALLOONS!











What does the tiger say?













Hanging out with Daddy













With cousin Ryan who came all the way from Texas to spend the day with us! Uncle BJ and Cousin Sasha in the background.






Who stayed up 'til 4 AM making a castle cake? MOMMY of course =)



















All in all, it was an awesome day and an AWESOME first year =)



Sites that are worth checking out today -
Men who look like Kenny Rogers
Owasso Farmer's Market
Green Country Local produce Info
A Full Cup - Site with coupons that will also teach you how/where/when to use them

A Full Cup

Want to know more about where I find coupons and learn how to use them? Check it out!

Stepping up my game

The economy, layoffs, recession, other big scary financial words...blah blah blah.  It hasn't hit toooo close to home *yet*, but I have been trolling the net looking for $$ saving plans just in case...not to mention, saving money is good, right?  

I have been reading about people who save $$ at CVS pharmacy, and save to the point that they actually *make* money (after rebates and such).  I was pretty bummed that we don't have one of

 those nifty stores in the Tulsa area, but we *do* have an overabundance of Walgreens stores.  Apparently, you can do something similar there combining manufacturer's coupons, store coupons, and there EasySaver rebate program.  

I thought I would give it a try this month and see how it worked out.  I didn't really start until this week, so I missed some really great deals the week before =( Oh well.  Pictured are just a few of the items I have bought there this month, and so far, I have a total net cost of $12.  That includes-

Two Sunday Papers (that I clipped the coupons from that saved me over $15)  -$2 each

Two Glade Sense&Spray air freshener systems - Final cost they pay ME $1.01 after two coupons and rebates

Two 'say yes to carrot' lip balms - They pay me $.60 after two coupons each

Thermacare heat wrap - free after rebate

Starbucks fancy evil chocolate - $1 each after in store and EasySaver coupons

Walgreens Contact Lens Soln.- Free after rebate

Two packs of 40ct. diapers- $10 total after coupon and in store discount (that's $.125 a diaper, outstanding!)

Revlon Spa Foundation - Free after rebate

That is just the beginning.  I got a few other things throughout the month, and now I am waiting on my Walgreens rebate card to arrive in the mail.  They load all my rebates on there, plus 10%.  That covers tax (you still have to pay tax on rebate/manufacturer's coupon items) and then some.  From here on out, I should never have to spend another dime out of pocket at Walgreens as long as I can keep my actual expense at an amount less than the $$ on the card.   They also have some items that print 'register rewards' that you can turn around and spend like cash on your next purchase.  You can't use them to buy the same item you received them on (well, you can, but you won't get another reward), but you CAN spend them on a different item that will give you a reward...then use that reward to buy another of the first item if you so desire!  I will try to update in a few weeks and let you know how this is working out for me =)

This all started because I was searching for some coupons I could print to save on Cascade.  Well, I could only find coupons that would come in the mail, and I needed detergent like yesterday.  

I settled for Palmolive's new 'ECO' variety in a move to save the world...or a few bucks, it was considerably less expensive than other name brands.  Well, it turns out it's cheap for a reason...go figure.  

It cleans alright, but it leaves a nice white film in its stead.  It does wipe right off, but it's not exciting to have more work to do after you thought the work was done!  It does smell VERY nice though while the dishes are running.

In other news, Brookelynn is walking.  About a month ago she began toddling, and now she is quite proficient at getting around upright like the rest of us civilized types.  She really is growing up too fast...she will be a year old in a couple weeks!  It is SO WEIRD to see her chasing after all the other kids at our Bible study group.  She can't keep up yet, but she sure tries hard!  

Barry and I celebrated three years of joyous matrimony last Tuesday.  He came home from work early and we hit a movie and Olive Garden.  It is the first movie we've seen together in the theatre since we saw fireproof with our church.  Before that?  I don't even remember!   It was very nice.  We wrapped up our evening at around 7PM...we really are getting old, lol.  

Off off and away...

I knew better

Yea, turns out it's all smoke and no wax.  

I knew it didn't make sense that (1) you could have that much wax in your ear and still hear ANYTHING and (2) that the drips in the wax chunk formed downward not upwards.  Ah well, it was fun why it lasted.  

So Brookelynn has started saying 'bananana' the last few days.  Today, it morphed into 'nononono'.  BAD news man.  She points at the fireplace..."nononononono", picks up the remote..."nonononono".  Yeaaaa.  Exciting times!  She now officially has 4 little teeth and a few more on the way.  She took a few steps the other night... look out house.  

In case anyone is wondering, we are still doing cloth diapers.  I haven't been responsible enough to line dry them since around...oh say, October?  It's been cold, and Barry deconstructed my line creation.  Brookelynn is still using the potty chair or a ring on the toilet, but her game is still a little off since a run in with the runs back in November.  poor dear!